Bookmobile brings library to Attalla residents

By Dustin FoxTimes Staff Writer

Monday

Feb 18, 2019 at 5:52 PMFeb 18, 2019 at 5:52 PM

After a few months of preparation, the bookmobile at Attalla Public LIbrary is loaded up and ready to hit the streets. The project aims to bring the library to members of the community who may otherwise not have access to it.

“We have a variety of magazines, fiction, nonfiction, children's books and religious books,” said Lisa Spears, director of the library. “And if they have requests, they can let us know and we will pull it from inside.”

The bookmobile is a bright red van with decals reading “Turn the Page Book Mobile” down the sides. If that does not draw enough attention, though, the library has added lights and sirens to the roof.

“It’s a ministry, it really is,” said Kenneth Jacobs, the HR manager at the library. Jacobs has been involved with the bookmobile from the start and said the inspiration for the project came to him through his work as a pastor. After visiting some local nursing homes, he noticed that many of the facilities did not have many books for residents to read.

“There are a lot of elderly people in Attalla that cannot come to the library, so it was our vision to bring it it to them,” he said.

With the idea in mind, he and others at the library began looking for a vehicle they could use. Near the end of last year, the city declared one of its Animal Control vans as surplus, so the library reached out to Mayor Larry Means about it.

“The mayor was 100 percent on board,” Jacobs said, adding that Means offered to help in any way he could with the project. The library took over the van and quickly began the work of cleaning it up.

Spears said she heard people say they wouldn’t be able to convert an Animal Control van into a mobile library, but they worked hard to make it happen.

The van was cleaned and detailed before they added decals to it and installed custom-built shelves and cages to keep books in place.

Now that everything is set up and ready to go, Jacobs plans to make a weekly visit to Attalla Healthcare, Oak Landing Assisted Living, Cherry Creek Village and the Senior Citizen Club at Carnes Recreation Center.

The residents and staff are excited about the bookmobile. Jacobs said a staff member at one of the facilities has been calling for weekly updates. Before the bookmobile was fully finished, he made a few trips to some of the facilities and said the residents are happy to see him stop by.

The bookmobile is not just about the books for the residents, though.

“It gives me time to go in there and talk to them, to let them know what the city has available for them,” he said. “And they look forward to the visits.”

“It makes your heart happy to see that you’re doing something so important to them,” Spears said.

The plan is to extend the bookmobile’s services to others in the community. A laptop can be set up in the van to register people for library cards wherever they go, and Spears plans to use the van during the summer to get kids excited about the summer reading program. They also plan to cater to shut-ins in the community who call in to request a visit by the bookmobile.

Jacobs said he felt God had placed the idea on his mind, and he and the rest of the staff at the library have had fun getting the bookmobile ready to go. Spears said the project is a public service, and she and Jacobs agreed it’s about more than just books.

“If they know you’ve taken the time to do something special for them like that, it means a lot to them,” Jacobs said.

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